In the coming weeks, the Pentagon is expected to grant two new security approvals for iPads, iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices. Will Connors has details.

The U.S. Department of Defense expects in coming weeks to grant two separate security approvals for Samsung's Galaxy smartphones, along with iPhones and iPads running Apple's latest operating system—moves that would boost the number of U.S. government agencies allowed to use those devices.

As more companies approve different smartphones for work, what does it mean for cybersecurity? Noah Wasmer from mobile-security specialist MobileIron talks about how companies can protect sensitive information on employees' smartphones.

Both companies have been pushing hard to win over U.S. defense agencies, some of the government's most security-conscious customers. That market is small and still largely dominated by
Research In Motion
Ltd.
's BlackBerrys, so the new security approvals won't likely translate into any immediate, big sales or new customers.

Still, the approvals are among a handful considered to be the gold standard in communications security. Passing muster at the Pentagon can go a long way in making other security-minded customers—such as bankers and lawyers—feel more comfortable using the devices.

For Samsung, in particular, its push in Washington is the latest attempt at winning more corporate and government customers. Samsung has hired several former RIM executives as well as veterans from security-focused companies. It recently created an enterprise-focused division within the company that has been reaching out to Western governments.

Last month in London, Samsung hosted the first meeting of a new government-advisory board, made up of Samsung executives and technology-security experts from Western government agencies, including the U.S. National Security Agency. The NSA sometimes participates in such industry groups, focused on shaping new products for government agencies.

During the two-day meeting, which included a dinner at
Gordon Ramsay's
Maze restaurant, the head of Samsung's new enterprise unit,
BC Cho,
said it was "a little bit embarrassing" that the company's smartphones weren't being used by government agencies, considering how many consumer phones the company was shipping, according to meeting notes reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The meeting also included representatives from the British National Technical Authority for Information Assurance, the agency that ensures British telecommunications security, and government representatives from Canada, Australia, France and Germany. Samsung told attendees it planned to roll out a more rugged version of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S 4. As previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, the new phone, tentatively called the Galaxy S 4 "Active," would be waterproof and dust proof.

Such a product could appeal to consumers who want to take their phone mountain climbing or kayaking. But it could also be attractive to government agencies needing devices for officials in hardship postings, or even soldiers on the battlefield.

While the primary pitch of the meeting was to persuade governments to give Samsung a chance at winning government business, the company was also upfront about its bigger ambitions.

Samsung Executive Vice President
Young Lee,
head of the company's European operations, said at the meeting that Samsung knew it wasn't going to bring in "big volumes" of government contracts, compared with its consumer market, but said others would surely follow, according to the meeting notes.

"Once we are certified by the government, more easily we can convince others, the bankers and also big enterprise and so on," he said, according to the meeting notes.

Toward the end of the two days, one Samsung executive joked that perhaps once Samsung obtains government approval for its new devices, the NSA could get U.S. President
Barack Obama
,
well known as a BlackBerry and iPad user, to take up a Samsung device. "You never know," the NSA representative,
Margaret Salter,
responded, according to the notes. An NSA representative declined to comment.

The Defense Information Systems Agency, or DISA, the agency that sanctions commercial technology for Pentagon use, is set to rule in the next two weeks that Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones, preloaded with Samsung's Knox security software, conforms with the Pentagon's so-called Security Technology Implementation Guide, according to a Defense Department spokesman. That would allow it to be used by some Pentagon agencies for things such as sending and receiving internal emails.

A Samsung representative declined to comment.

Separately, DISA is expected to rule in early May that Apple's latest operating system, iOS 6, conforms to a different security-requirement guide, the Defense Department spokesman said. That would allow iPhones and iPads to be used by military agencies for nonclassified communications, such as email and Web browsing.

The Defense Department has more than three million employees, though not all of them are issued devices. The agency's spokesman said the approvals "do not directly result in product orders, but facilitate the process by eliminating the need for security reviews at the individual DOD organization level."

Many government agencies—including some divisions of the U.S. military—have already approved iPhones and iPads for use. But the Pentagon certification would allow more security-sensitive government agencies at the Pentagon to start using them, and would allow more widespread use of the devices across government agencies. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

The two smartphone makers have to go through a different vetting process. Samsung's phones rely on
Google
Inc.
's Android operating system, which is used with an array of device makers and is based on open-source software, so it can be more vulnerable to security breaches. Apple's operating system, meanwhile, is proprietary and viewed as more secure.

RIM, meanwhile, has long held the Pentagon's top security approvals for its older-model BlackBerrys. But more recently, it has had to go back to seek fresh approval because its latest BlackBerrys, the touch-screen Z10 and keyboard-equipped Q10, run off a new operating system. RIM says it is close to getting top Defense Department approval for the new OS, called BlackBerry 10.

"We are working with DOD and DISA to ensure we have approval as soon as possible," a RIM spokeswoman said in a written statement. The DOD said a decision on RIM's pending approval "is expected in the next two weeks."

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